This is a surreal day. While I watched our new President’s moving inaugural speech this morning, it took all of my focus to not keep thinking about the big story I’d heard about the night before involving our leader here in Portland, Mayor Sam Adams.

Also in that thread, regular forum member Attornatus_Oregonensis wrote:

“I don’t like being lied to. I suspect many Portlanders feel that way. I just lost a lot of respect for the man. And I wonder whether all the promises he made about improving bike-related infrastructure were lies also, told to get elected. You know, just like Potter.”

Adams at his City Hall welcome party.

Adams personal affairs are not our business, but I can’t ignore the reality as expressed in A_O’s comment above. Adams’ admission has hurt his credibility with many people in this city. How much? Will he be able to serve and accomplish as much as we hoped?

It is too early to tell what exactly will be the result of all this, but it is clear that it’s a major blow for Adams at a time when the excitement and optimism about his tenure was at an all-time high.

I realize this isn’t about bikes, but I’ve covered Adams a lot on these pages over the years, and I feel I like this is something I needed to share.

I plan to attend the press conference at City Hall in a few hours and I will report back what I hear.

What do you think about all this?

Do you think this loss of credibility will hurt his ability to accomplish the bold things we all know he has planned for biking?

Adams sent out this public statement yesterday:

I want to publicly acknowledge a mistake I have made and I want to apologize for it.

In the past, I have characterized my relationship with Beau Breedlove as purely non-sexual. That is not true. Beau Breedlove and I had a sexual relationship for a few months in the summer of 2005 after he turned 18 years of age.

I should have been honest at the time about the true nature of my relationship with Beau Breedlove when questions about my relationship with him first surfaced publicly in October 2007. In fact, Beau encouraged me to be honest about the facts of our relationship. I am deeply sorry that I asked him to lie for me.

I lied at the time because I was afraid that people would believe untrue rumors, being circulated by an undeclared mayoral opponent, that I had broken a law involving sexual relations with a minor. But this is not a good excuse.

Until today, with the exception of Beau, I have not discussed with anyone the true nature of my relationship with him: not with my colleagues, staff, friends or family.

I apologize to Beau for asking him to lie for me. I apologize to my colleagues for my poor handling of this matter. I apologize to the people of Portland for my dishonesty. I should have been truthful from the beginning.

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Comments

A-dubJanuary 20, 2009 at 11:09 am

It isn’t the act that gets politicians in trouble it is the cover up. Ask Nixon, ask Clinton, etc.

This would maybe be an issue for me if the intern in question had worked for Sam, or even for some other member of city government. In fact though he was an adult who worked in another city. I don’t expect public figures to be honest with me about things that are none of my business, in the same way that if Sam (or anyone else who I don’t know personally) asked me a personal question I might not be honest with him.

I’ve read a lot of blog comments this morning and while it does seem that those who were against Sam prior to the election will be trying to take some kind of political advantage of this those of us who supported Sam based on the issues, have a responsibility to continue to press forward and help bring his promises to reality. When we look at his first 19 days he seems on his way to delivering on his campaign promises, lets not let some “moralists” use this private event that happened years ago between consenting adults and never should have been news to begin with end up derailing all the positive things that are about to happen in our city.

It’s very unfortunate that many people in power cannot sexually restrain themselves. We look to them for leadership and they should be setting an example for all. Mayor Adams has a larger hurdle to clear to regain the respect and trust of this community.

Lets see. The other person was over 18. And Adams wasn’t under oath when he lied about it. And they didn’t get stopped by the police in the airport bathroom while they were doing it. So there is no crime here. It is interesting, but only in a Britney Spears sort of interesting, so…

However, looking at my personal life, have I ever lied about who I’ve slept with? Yep. Cause it isn’t anyone else’s business!

I understand that the nature of politics would make it extremely difficult for Sam Adams, an age 40+ mayoral candidate, to tell the world he was having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old. But, other than the lying part (which is understandable), who cares? My Mayor’s private life is none of my business. Mayor Adams, I support you 100 percent, and I sincerely hope and believe that the overwhelming majority of my fellow Portlanders feel the same way.

I agree with you Curt (and others). Unfortunately I just don’t think it’s that simple. I think the issue is how he handled it, what motivated his cover-up, and whether or not his standing with the public has been irreparably harmed.

I voted for Sam, and would do so again if the same candidates were running today. I would also echo some of the statements above that his sexual practices are no one’s business but his own.

However, I don’t like being lied to. A “no comment” or “I’m not going to introduce my sexual history as a campaign topic” would have been a better approach. What worries me is the slippery slope here. If Sam was willing to lie because it thought it would help him get elected, does this mean he might go a little further for some other cause.

Politicians (unfairly) are put under the microscope. Not many of us would fare well under such scrutiny. My hope is that Sam will use this adversity to inspire himself to work hard for the city, and make a valiant effort to regain our trust. Hell, he just started a couple of week ago, and he has the better part of four years to make his mark and put this behind him.

The difference in power, the difference in age, the position as mentor, the outright denial of the truth, the claims of dirty politics and homophobia, having the young man lie as well, to protect running for a political office, point to an amazing lack of judgment and integrity on the part of Adams.

With some of the previous comments, I concur–it is not the act, but the cover up that makes me think sleezy. However, on a number of occasions where I have had the chance to listen or speak to (at the time not Mayor) Adams, I still think he is the leader our city needs. I will watch to see if this can be resolved and put behind so that the future can move forward. Sorry is sorry. Done. Let’s cry and then move on.

I understand the argument “it’s none of our business” and no laws were broken. But he was in a situation of power with a young person coming to him for advice, leadership, mentorship, etc. He should have been big enough to restrain himself. Just like Clinton, he took advantage of the situation.

Now don’t get me wrong, I support Mayor Adams, I think he was the best candidate for the job and I voted for him and still would, but we have a new benchmark for public service and character, President Obama. It’s time for our leaders to follow the example that we all know they should live up to.

When you represent a minority, the burden of irreproachability falls harder on your shoulders. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, latino or queer. Because you’re a member of a minority you will be judged more sternly than the status quo, and that’s something any politician needs to remember when considering a run for office. It isn’t right, but it’s reality and there is NOTHING that can be done to change that quickly or easily.

Adams either didn’t do his homework, or assumed that because he didn’t make his being gay THE Issue during his rise in the political ranks, he thought he wouldn’t be held to that stricter standard. Too bad for him, and too bad for Portland.

Had the mayor come out with this during the election he would have been smeared as a child molester (a common falsehood already widely projected by anti-gay folks). I suspect that would have crushed him and we would now have Mayor Deshono (who stole money from a child’s trust fund).

He broke no laws, he hurt no one. This was adult, consensual sex. As for abusing his power: He was a city commissioner at the time, not exactly a big power position.

Considering that only he and Beau knew about this I think it’s big of him to come out with the truth and I respect him for that. Look at Larry Craig and Blagojevich, even caught red handed they still are lying. At least Adams had the guts to come clean. I hope this all blows over, forgive a minor sexual impropriety and get on with fixing the city’s problems.

I realize that he did the wrong thing by lying and that this hurts trust, and that’s well and good. I think it’s important to look at yourself and think “did I ever lie about something important?” When you answer ‘yes’, then ask yourself, “did I hope then, that people would be willing to trust me again?” When you answer ‘yes’ again, remember that we should always be keeping a sharp eye on what our politicians are doing (in their public life), they are under a lot of pressure from us to appear well, and they may not handle their lives any better than you and I would – they’re not any different from you and I. However, just because they don’t always do everything right doesn’t mean that they A) are bad people B) never do anything right or C) are crazed perpetual liars bent on winning power at all expense.

I don’t quite understand why we have this perception that politicians should somehow be morally superior to everyone else (or at least impeccable about covering up their unpleasant business). They’re people just like us. The whole business has felt really sensationalist on the part of the media to me.

The real story isn’t the sex scandal. Nor is it the fact that Sam Adams lied.

The story is that Amy Ruiz, a reporter with the Portland Mercury, got a job working for Sam Adams for which she absolutely has zero qualifications. Amy is the same reporter who was looking into this story previously.

What’s the deal here Sam? Did you pay off Amy to keep her silent? Is that the real story here?

I was wondering why the Merc was asking about Ruiz, but it all makes sense now. Although I know Amy and she seems to be a very capable reporter, I wondered how she would be seen as qualified for a major policy position. I agree that the implications here, if true, are very troubling.

But, if you don’t care when your mayor lies to you to influence your vote or that he seems to have been literally counting the days until Breedlove turned 18 so he could start the sexual aspect of the relationship, why would you care if he hired someone unqualified for a policy position just to keep her quiet about his lies?

wow…lots of apologists here already. I think AO is onto something however..that appointment of Ruiz to keep her quiet… keeping your enemies close is a common political practice…and there is ALWAYS something underlying reason…

Obama saw Clinton as his biggest challenger in 2012….now she’s practically unable to run against her own boss…

What’s Ruiz going to do? come out against her employer with a damning story?

I think we all need to get over the fact that politicians, like all humans, have sex, and sometimes that sex is not deemed “OK” by the common mores of the time. People lie about sex. Sometimes they make errors about who they sleep wioth because attraction is a powerful force. News at 11: politican makes mistake! OMG!

Our society needs to shift it’s puritan attitudes about sex. I don’t give a flying F who he slept with. That does not have anything to do with the job of mayor at all.

Politicians lie about thier sex lives because it weighs more heavily on them when they err. I don’t expect my politicians to be any more than human. And I just assume they all have some kind of sexual skeletons in thier closets. Why would this be shocking?

A gay man seeking public work in an arena known to be homophobic hides a sexual relationship? Are we surprised?! I understand why he would!

I think Sam should step down. It pains me to say it, I was really excited about the guy, but I really think he should. The whole thing is unseemly–a forty year old man sleeping with a 17 or 18 year old boy–it’s poor judgment. The lying? No good.

But the bigger issue is indeed the cover-up, and the ramifications of that. Did Amy Ruiz get the job as a means of buying her silence? There are busloads of more qualified people in this town for that position. Why was Sam so hell-bent on giving Randy the PPB? Was it political horse-trading in return for Randy going to bat for Sam? Who else knew, who else covered for Sam, and what favors does he owe them in return? It’s a matter of damaged integrity at this point.

Derrick Foxworth was demoted, humiliated, and basically run out of town on a rail for far lesser sins. Are the same people who wanted to see the top cop (and a black man, at that) taken down going to stand by Sam just because he’s charming and likes bikes?

Sam, being deceptive regarding this, is a bad thing. Prying into someone’s sexual existence, is a worse thing. If the young man was indeed over 18, it was consensual, and not an abuse of power, it’s none of the press’ business. I find it offensive, that he was placed in the position of either telling the truth, and being relegated out of any possible hope of winning, or lying, and hoping that it’s a non-issue in the future.

There’s investigative journalism, and then there’s digging up gossip, and using it for personal glory.

If my next door neighbor wants to sleep with members of the barely legal crowd, that’s none of my business. If my mayor wants to do the same, then go to great lengths to cover it up, coach the kid to “get the story straight,” take indignant offense when confronted with his actions, smear and ruin the reputation of his political rivals in the process, and apparently make appointments and hiring decisions based on who helped him cover his ass? Well, sorry, but that is my business, and yours too.

Personally, I don’t care either. I’m pretty annoyed with the press, making a to-do about it. Yeah, he should have told the truth, but I can understand, why he wanted to keep his personal life aside, so focus could be on his political work. As someone who has been around politics for a long time, he knows how much the press will run with a little story and soon everyone’s talking about that instead of putting efforts towards what really matters. I actually appreciate what Randy Leonard, who has worked with Sam Adams, has said that the “I don’t think its anyone’s business.” And it’s ridiculous that on inauguration day, the front headline of the Oregonian is ‘Adams Lied about sex with teen’. And I thought 18 years is considered an adult. Just take a look at the covers of several newspapers today here: http://blog.oregonlive.com/nwheadlines/2009/01/todays_headlines_inauguration.html It’s too bad a non-story became the top story.

WHO CARES?! seriously, it’s “journalism” like this which only adds more hype to the fire. this story is irrelevant to politics and bikes. it’s about a man having sex and not telling the whole world about it. wow, what a fucking crime. pun intended.

#22 +1, but I am hoping this is just bad advise or a judgment laps on Adams part and not a persistent character flaw. As far as his privacy and what he does in ,it is not my business as long as it reflects the image that he is selling me. What baffles me is;I am sure he had mayoral ambitions in 2005, why would he consider an intern relationship a value to that end? This seems reminiscent of the Edwards situation

Hard work seems to heal all kinds of problems. How about Sam put his nose to grindstone for a few weeks and get some stuff done, in short deliver on the promises without a lot of grandstanding and we all move on, hoping this is the worst of it.

Why do we expect moral perfection from our elected officials? Has anyone here ever had a questionable sexual expirience and lied about it afterward? Did it make you untrustworthy in general because of it? So what, he lubed his crankshaft without a lot of foresight. We’ve all done it. He’s still my mayor and I still believe he’ll do great things for Portland!

KJ (#28): How is it a “mistake” to intentionally lie about something to influence the outcome of an election?

A mistake is when you forget your keys, or call your girlfriend the wrong name, or make an adding error when you balance your checkbook.

Knowing that something is morally wrong and doing it anyway for personal gain at the public’s expense isn’t a “mistake.” It’s fraud.

If I knew you thought my bike was worth $500, even though it was only worth $100, but I let you keep believing that and sold it to you for $500, is that a “mistake” on my part? Should you just forget about that?

I agree with BikingViking. It’s not the act that bothers me. It’s none of my business, and I don’t really care who the mayor or any other public official chooses to sleep with (as long as they’re of age). It’s the dishonesty that bothers me. I’d like to quote a selection from Obama’s speech today: “…and do our business in the light of day.” It’s just an excerpt, taken out of context at that, but I think that it’s an important thought.

On the other hand, Curt has a good point. Public acknowledgment of an affair with an 18 year old would have been political suicide, bar none. What other choice could Adams have made?

Regardless of what happens, I hope that it’s best for Portland. This is a tricky situation full of all kinds of shades of gray. We should all pause and think before deciding how to respond.

In my book it’s OK to send distractions to nosy people asking personal questions. I would have expected Mr Adams to be untruthful in this situation. Transfering this “lie” to his statements about bike infrastructure is weak minded. Lord knows the guy has high enough hurdles. Good luck Sam !

Huh? What do you think I’ve lied about? Do you go around and tell people that you’ve slept with people when you really haven’t? Are you applying for a job as a porn star? I go the other way, you know, tell people that I haven’t slept with people when I have. Let me give you an example: The woman got dumped by her boyfriend a week before we started dating. There was no talk or anything about dating before then, everything happened after she got dumped. And I knew the guy, we weren’t friends or anything, but I knew him. And few weeks into our relationship, he asked me if we were sleeping together. Nothing improper was going on, nobody was cheating on anyone or anything… But, it wasn’t any of his business what his ex was doing, so I told him no we weren’t. (And seriously, you expect a big lecture about how it wasn’t his business would have made the situation better? Because the only people that give that lecture are people that would have said yes, and everyone knows that.) But it was a lie…

Sex is a lousy measure of integrity. American culture is just too prudish and close-minded; public figures must be sexless beings with no private lives. Of course they lie about it! they have to! Yes the truth always comes out eventually, and then they look worse, but the fact remains that our society would not have accepted the truth up front either.

Lying about sex in this culture DOES NOT EQUAL lying about anything else. It’s just not the same thing. I’d be concerned if he’d lied about business deals, or campaign contributions, or his intentions regarding the future of the city. But a sexual relationship has nothing to do with any of this. I don’t blame him for lying, and I don’t care.

The only reason he lied is because people were asking inappropriate question about his personal life and a refusal to answer the question is taken as an admission by the media and American public. Let’s not forget that the reason the question was asked was because a political opponent wanted to damage him politically. If the American public were able to more accurately delineate the difference between personal and private life, politicians wouldn’t have to lie to us to keep their careers.

I think it was a sketchy relationship, and a mistake, but my friends have had sketchy relationships too and I don’t think that they shouldn’t run for public office because of them. And I don’t think people need to be forced to talk about it. If some strangers were asking me about my sex life, or a newspaper I would definitely lie and people who say differently are either lying or have awful sex ;-)

As I read the details and timeline from other media I continue to stand by Sam.

Bob Ball who tried to use the relationship to win the election. Adams denied it and accused Ball of dirty politics. This shamed Ball and Adams wins the election.

Regardless of the validity of Ball’s accusation, it *is* dirty politics and Adams very well may have lost the election if he had tried to take the noble path at that crossroads. So while it doesn’t fill me with happiness the fact that Sam lied on this, it was the right strategic move. Ball forced the mudslinging and Sam had to choose between likely loss of the election or a lie about something that has nothing to do with the elected post.

In the same way I supported Bill Clinton despite his similar error in judgement, I’m with Sam. I hope Sam’s agenda does not get derailed in the way Clinton’s did because we have work to do.

For all of you who say it’s not a big deal, if you had an 17/18 year old daughter who was “interested” in a 40+ year old man, and that man decided it was a good idea to have sex with her after her 18th birthday what would your thoughts be on that? Leave the gay issue out of this what he did was disgusting and was only made worse by the fact that he lied and coerced the young man involved to lie for him. We have become far too comfortable with our elected officials lying to us and it is disappointing to read the “so what” posts. Don’t forget, Sam hammered the guy who originally brought this issue up as a homophobe and a liar. Hmmmm….

@ #48: Any lie that is made to influence the outcome of an election is an important lie.

I’d like to respectfully suggest that many of you are choosing to be partisan over demanding integrity and accountability in government. You are also being somewhat disingenuous in pretending the issue is whether it’s OK to lie about personal sexual conduct. That isn’t the issue.

The issue is whether it’s OK to lie when you do so to influence an election in your favor and what that says about what you’re willing to do as Mayor to achieve personal political goals, not to mention what it says about your ability to get things done, as Jonathan points out above.

The other issue is whether he chose Amy Ruiz for a job even though she was not the best candidate because she was about to expose his lies. You can bet the folks at the Merc know this is a real issue. And if you don’t see why it is an issue, then I guess you’re willing to let good old Sam do whatever he wants as long as he sticks with the bikey plans, huh?

That sort of political stance sounds awfully familiar to me from paying attention over the last 8 years. Come on, Portland.

Don’t ever wonder why our government has so many problems when you’re happy who have people running the show who lie to your face and sell government jobs. I know we don’t know whether Sam did the latter, but really that’s the point: You should care.

Steve: No, the man was 18, to start, and if 17/18 year olds can go off to college and screw any old coed they want, I don’t see the problem with screwing older people. I did. Why would I have a problem with my child doing so if they are an adult. Especially when it’s a part of gay culture for young men to(voluntarily choose and desire) take on older lovers. Our hetronormative culture doesn’t really jive with that. I mean, it’s perfectly acceptable for your 18 year old daughter in our country to pose for porn.

And Velocipied: You can only feel founded if you expect your politicians to be pristine people. I think lying is integral to the job and expect no less and trust no politician. It’s your own pipe dream to think they won;t lie to gain office. Humans lie to gain advantage all the time, padding resumes for example. We all lie. It’s getting caught that sucks, and it will affect his credibility if it’s not handles well, because when politicians get caught is all about how they control the spin. He shouldn’t have lied, sure, I agree. but he did. Just like alllll the rest of them. Awww our dear Adams isn’t a god. I wonder what Obama is hiding.

I think a little empathy is in order. Yes it sucks to get lied to, but put yourself in Sam’s shoes. if somebody asked you make a public statement about a little fling you had, would you? what if your future job let alone your entire career could be in jeopardy; would you tell your whole company you had a little summer fling with the cute new intern? Might you also ask the intern to not say anything and keep what you had between the two of you? Sam’s personal life is his business. I put more on the slimy guy that made Sam’s personal life everybody’s business. Everybody has had that moment of weakness and to judge somebody else is pretty crapy. after all, I think it says a lot about Sam to own up to it to the whole city. could you do that? I’m not worried about Sam’s promises and efforts as our Mayor. if anything, he’s probably more motivated than ever to turn around his reputation and do the best job he can do. Everybody’s got a skeleton in the closet, his closet just got burned down.

Ah, and I do want to add, because I was reacting more to my “OH good gravy another sex scandal” I don’t think it’s ok for politicians to lie… I just expect no less of them. I am not trying to excuse the lie, but I do understand why they get made.

And since often their lies are about sex, I think we should examine why they feel so strongly they need to lie about sex so much. Them and the rest of us. More a reflection on our culture and it’s weird relationship to sex and talking about it openly instead of sneaking around and judging people.

Adams made a big mistake and now he is going have to deal with the repercussions. We’ll have to wait to see how the situation pans out. I think it could be bad, especially since he is gay. So we should be prepared to lose our bike crusader.

I’d like to trust people I vote for, but I just can’t. They always seem to let you down. I just hope they do a decent job. I’ll keep voting for people I think will do a good job, and I just keep hoping, someday, someone won’t let me down.

It does weigh heavily when this involves someone whom you count on to promote items that are dear to you and many others. Sam’s private life is his and his alone. It should not have been a campaign issue. But we do seek something more from those who want to lead. Power and age disparity can pose problems in sexual relationships. The appointment of a reporter to a city job sounds suspect. Not ready to put Sam under the bus, but does give pause.

How much political capital did he lose due to this? That is what should concern us here. The very real danger isn’t with moralizers but that other members of City Council, perhaps with mayoral ambitions in four years, use this new weakness to stymie Adams’ plans or gut them. That is where bike plans could suffer greatly. An economic downturn and a weakened mayor would make it easy for others to appeal to the greater public that cops, potholes, firemen, homeless services, etc. are of far greater need than Sam’s silly bike lanes. Besides, he doesn’t think straight most of the time on important issues to Portlanders. (pun intended – wink, wink)

Time will tell. Sadly, a lot of people now won’t think “strong, dynamic young mayor” but rather “lying old horn dog”.

KJ (# 55 & 56): You did a good job of avoiding my question and dodging my “mistake” comment; perhaps you’re thinking of running for office.

I hear where you’re coming from. I have lied in the past. I have done immoral things. As has been pointed out, we all have.

But I would not lie to you and then expect you to trust me with your money and important decisions after that. I’d understand that you’d want someone else, someone who hadn’t betrayed your trust, to do those things. That’s why I’d resign if I were Sam Adams. And if you’re not willing to ask for someone who you can trust to be your mayor, then you don’t deserve a mayor with integrity.

Whereas I agree that personal lives are for the most part irrelevant when it comes to professional performance and political leadership, this is a sad case of where the party involved chose to entwine the two worlds, rather than keeping them carefully apart. The level of risk involved in a situation like was obviously grave, and I am sad to admit that it does impact my opinion of someone who I have avidly supported, especially because of his support for the bike and arts communities. Jonathan is right: this story is relevant to the green transportation community, because a shift in clout for Sam Adams could mean a shift in support for the agenda items that he plans to pursue.

However, what is most important to me in this case is the issue of the youth or “minor” involved (I am not buying the waited-until-eighteen assertion at this point, but who knows the real truth at this time). *Whereas I fully believe that young people should have the right to explore and enjoy sexual relationships, I feel that they should be given the opportunity to do so from a position of empowerment and protection.* Young people are often unaware of the life-changing consequences that sex in the wrong situations can have, whether unplanned pregnancy, illness, injury or harm on professional, educational and emotional levels. Older adults are generally more experienced and educated when it comes to the complex world of sex, professional standing, and ethics. From what little I know, this sounds like a case of where the significantly-older person involved should have been strongly aware of the dangerous ramifications that such relations could have – ramifications that could profoundly impact the youth’s life and future, not to mention his own. I believe in personal freedom, but I have also long advocated the importance of looking out for young, possibly vulnerable people who might not be aware of the consequences that certain sexual circumstances may bring. (i.e. http://wweek.com/editorial/2848/3189/) Adults in public service roles should lead by example and adhere to codes of ethics and professionalism. It breaks my heart to ponder today’s local news, especially when all I want to do is celebrate leadership today. I also know that there is much more to this story (I learned long ago to refrain from shaping my views based solely on media reports), so I will continue to ponder the gray areas rather than jumping to one conclusion or another, which seems to be the natural reaction for many (understandably so).

velocipede #58 wrote “But I would not lie to you and then expect you to trust me with your money and important decisions after that.”

a.O, don’t you do that every day? A lie is a lie regardless of it’s intended audience or purpose. Telling a lie to my neighbor is the same as telling a lie to me. I would think that in your business, honesty and integrity would be even more important than in Sam’s?

a.0. #52: “The other issue is whether he chose Amy Ruiz for a job even though she was not the best candidate”

If you’ve read the job description, (it is on blogtown,) she is very qualified. Now, the question could be asked whether or not the job description was written with her in mind or something, but if you look at what the job requires, and what she has to offer, they are a pretty good match. When I first heard that she had gotten the job, my thought wasn’t payback or bribe or anything, it was that she’ll be good, and I still believe that.

The story is coming out, so how to minimize it? Stall until you are elected and seated, and then come out with an apology 3 weeks into you term on the single biggest news day of the year. You then have roughly 3 and half years for people to forget about it. Adminirable Mastery of Politics.

Now lets think about Sam’s next office. Will this be old news by the time he runs for congress or governor? Again, this is the perfect time to deal with it.

Make mistakes and lie about them while holding a fairly important and powerful position, elected by the people…. then lying openly to the people….

credibility was lost. putting higher faith in politicians is incredulous. simple because Adams likes bikes…people here are willing to throw away all other expectations of what is takes to be a “good leader”. honesty is at the heart of that idea. he used the bike lobby/special interest group to get votes…and he succeeded. sadly, I don’t think he’ll be succeeding in much else the next few years, if not called to resign in the next week or two…

Velocipede: I wasn’t not trying to answer your question, I just responded. I wouldn’t touch public office with a ten foot pole btw. Ugh no thanks.

I guess in a situation like this, the difference to me is the kind of lie. What was it about and why was it made. I tend to evaluate situation individually.

I have a lot less respect for politicians that lie about things that affect thier jobs, than affect their personal life. Not that I have a whole lot of respect if they are caught lying to begin with.

I do not trust people who want to hold power though. That’s my own bias coloring my opinion. I tend to see people who WANT to be in control, no matter how altruistic and hopeful thier message, as people who want power. And to me, if you give most people power, that it will be abused. So I don’t trust people who want power. I don’t trust them to be able to handle the temptations is offers.

I am not entirely sure I believe that Sam lied because he was trying to fraud the vote, I think that opinion will come with more info. He could have been trying to protect the intern, and he also could have been lying just to lie about a socialy unacceptable relationship. The Amy Ruiz thing will prove interesting to follow.

I am cynical but I do like to give benefit of the doubt until I have more facts. I am doubtful it will prove anything other than lying to prevent scandal during an election. Is that fraud? I don’t know. He lied about a relationship. I don’t know with the gay factor in it, I don’t know if I can fault him for lying about an affair with a younger man. But yeah, it would probly have affected his outcome. How, we will find out soon in public response I guess. I’ll know mor efully how I feel about it with more data. it woulden’t have affected my vote, at this point. maybe that’s why I don’t feel as frauded as you do.

I get what you are saying, I do.

I think that if the public decides they want Sam to step down he should. I also think we should see if the public forgives this transgression and gives him a chance. I think that as a servant of the people, that we should be the ones deciding if he should step down for this. We put him there. Did I do better this time?

@ #62: Is this the job description? “Qualified applicants will have experience with urban planning….Applicants with a Master’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree, with 2 years related work experience in urban planning, political science, public administration, public policy or a closely related field are strongly preferred.”

As I understand it, Amy doesn’t have experience with urban planning nor a degree and 2 years experience in a planning or policy field, but I don’t know what her degree is in. I’m assuming journalism. And I understand that they received applications from people who had both. Please (please!) correct me if I am mistaken.

I think sometimes we forget that political figures are people, and their decisions have not only emotional consequences for themself, and their partner, but also to the public.

That’s an awful lot to balance, especially when you’re wary of how it will be construed or misconstrued.

What would you do were you in his situation? Do you feel you could say no comment/or I decline to discuss my sexual history…? I don’t think it’s feasible. In sexual politics it seems to be that you’re either stuck telling the city about your personal affairs, or you clam up about the whole thing. How often does the public accept ‘no comment/or decline to comment’ for any length of time.

I think it’s too early to make connections from this incident to how he’ll be handling his mayorial campaign.

I prefer see what he is able to accomplish in the policial and social change arena. The lie may prove worth the consequences if his time in office drastically and positively changes our city.

The guy has always been kind of a phony and bikeportland glossed over it. He got a thousand dollars in parking tickets last year yet claimed to be a bike commuter. Kind of hard to do if you ride a bike to work! As other people have said, this is not about sex, but sex with a person you have power over and trying to cover it up. He also smeared the reputation of Bob Ball who brought this up! Since what he says he didn’t do wasn’t a crime, why lie about it. The Mayor is really disappointing!

I don’t know if your life has been effected by inappropriate or illegal sexual contact, mine has, it wasn’t me, but the outcomes are not pleaseant. Sam was circuling the wagon at his 18th birthday party. He’s lied about the intitial contact, it’s hard to believe he held himself back till the birthday party. How about if Sam took a lie detector test? That would put some of my doubts about the chronological order of events to rest. I didn’t care about Clinton/Lewinsky or the personel lives of anyone, for that matter. But when your behavior potentially effects a minors childhood development, I side with the child, not my desire to have bike paths.

I think there is a gay term used for grooming an underage minor like this for when they will be 18, can’t remember it now (chicken hawk?). Common folk call it “Pediophile”. If he lied to us then, how do we know if he lies now? What’s next? a special election? what happens to the staff (office staff) when or if he goes? I am disapointed- I thought he might have bean able to do some good for Portland, now??

I doubt if th council members will put up with him now. He tarnish’s their reputation as to how people at the city operate. How to get a job, how to get ahead…. I don’t think they will want to associate with any of that. It would be for the better of the city if he were to step down. There are other people plenty qualified to do the job, we don’t nedd another on going scandal and yrs of mistrust. Better of to get a new mayor we can trust.

In today’s press: – “Editorial boards of The Oregonian, Portland Tribune to Sam Adams: Resign” (Oregon Live) – ” Adams said his punishment will be a complete loss of public trust.” (KGW)

It looks like the signs are on the wall… if Adams has any political instinct (and we all know he does) he resigns now and starts working on his political comeback 2 or 4 years down the road. Clinging to power will cause this thing to drag on forever, impede the city council and Adams to do their job, and put Adams at risk of being looked upon as Portland’s own version of Blagojevitch.

Sam Adams should be chastized for several reasons. I think there’s a bigger issue at stake here though. The thing I hate about crap like like this is the classic catch 22 situation it puts politicians in. It was the same with Clinton and Lewinsky. The get the crap investigated out of them over personnel relationships, then when they get caught in a lie, people say “oh it wasn’t the relationship, it was that they lied about it”. Bullshit. If it wasn’t about personnel relationships, there would have been no investigation in the first place. It just comes down to the fact that we’re a voyeuristic society and we like seeing &%*# thrown on people. You just have to be aware of TV programming to know that.

I really do believe that people can separate their personnel conduct from their professional. History shows that. History if full of great figures and leaders who cheated on their wives, and who know what else. Where would we be if Kennedy had been hounded out of office because of his womanizing? Or if Eisenhauer’s affairs had been exposed? We don’t need to condone that that behavior at all but we need to find a way to somehow separate it from our judgment of political mores and behavior. We’re cutting our own throats by not doing so.

It is a plausible position that sex is private, morally trivial, and unrelated to our role as citizens serving the common good. I think that there is a vocal minority that believes this passionately. In a democracy they should agitate to promote their conviction loudly, honestly, and with passion. Our sexual ethic (whether it is prudish or libertine) is tied to our view of beauty, family, citizenship, and culture. I assume that Sam believed that his sexual relationship with Beau was not merely ‘okay’ but a good and healthy expression of his humanity enjoying the freedom of citizenship in a city like ours.

Shouldn’t a leader trumpet what he/she believes is good and life affirming? The only powerful way to convince those who disagree with one’s convictions is to be willing to suffer and fight for what one holds as good and beautiful. This is exactly what Obama called the nation to in his inaugural address – self sacrifice for the common good.

lying lacks charity and courage and patience. If Sam would have told the truth in the midst of the election season he might have lost the election, but he would have put the issue of sexuality and individual freedom in the public discourse in a way that could have served the city and paved the way for his future role as a leader who is willing to live with conviction and patience to persuade.

Honestly, I feel like Adams did something stupid that really ought not effect his qualification for office. No person is perfect and although sleeping with an 18 year old at age 40 while in public life is profoundly stupid, it is not criminal and it is really not the public’s business.

Sam – get to work, there are issues to deal with and work to be done. It’s time to make things happen and not be caught in to mire of petty scandal.

As for lying about it when initially asked, who wouldn’t? Would you really want some two bit reporter mucking around the edges of your sex life? I sure wouldn’t because based on someone’s standards I’ve done things that would disqualify me from public office even though they were acts between consenting adults.

I don’t think it should have been brought up in the first place, provided he was 18. I read something in the Oregonian about 17 and 18 not being the issue, that either age makes him a sexual predator because of his age and political position. I’m not gay, but I don’t think it’s right to judge gay relationships by heterosexual standards. The guy(Beau) is still dating someone 20 years older than him so what’s to say he’s not the predator, using his youth to attract older men with money and power.

It would have been nice if Sam had told the truth in the first place, but c’mon, he was being accused of being a child molester.

For me, it’s so sad that the elation from yesterdays inauguration was tainted with the immense disappointment of this situation. First of all, erikv and everyone else who says “who cares, why are we talking about this”, you are missing the point.

Whether you like it or not, this is going to have major consequences for Portlands bike community. IF Adams gets to keep his job, which is a huge “IF”, he is going to be far less effective then he would be if he were still thought of as someone with integrity.

And yes, his integrity is extremely diminished. Wake up people, what are the chances that he actually kept it in his pants until the kid was 18? Not likely I think. And if he didn’t sleep with him at 11:58 the night before he turned 18, but slept with him at 12:03 am on his 18th birthday then that makes it okay? Not really.

Then there is the issue of his actually going far enough to accuse the people who tried to expose the truth of being manipulative homophobes. So wrong! And convincing the kid to lie for him, also, SO WRONG!

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, it is heartbreaking really, but Sam, you need to step down.

I’m in complete agreement with those saying he should step down. No, I’m not a homophobe,and am in fact, gay.

It’s very tiring that once again something is slanted for those who agree with the particular side. Would the people defending Adams also be defending a straight Republican who did the same thing with an 18 year old female? I highly doubt it.

Saying it was okay to lie because it was nobody’s business is an interesting tactic. Why not just say, “That question is irrelevant.” or “I’m not going to respond to that question” instead of lying about it? Someone who hides the truth that readily, obviously would not hesitate to do so again.

True, but he is also the best Mayor we have had here since Bud Clark. The man is hands on and accountable. Just look at the snow storm. How many leaders do you see up infront of the cameras actually leading? Not jsut giving sound bites, but actually leading.

When you ask for his resignation, ask your self what his replacement will be like. Will he/she be better or worse? Sure Sam messed up, but in these trying times, we need a strong leader. We need Sam. So in my Conservative Republican mind he needs to stay in office and see us through these times.

#103: he lied to cover up a potentially embarrassing personal matter that’s none of my business,

Yes, and no. He lied about a potentially embarrassing personal matter, but he also admitted that he lied so that he would get elected. And slandered other people, calling them liars and homophobes, in the process. And waited until days after he was seated, to come out with the truth, when by law he can’t be removed for at least 6 months.

Would a replacement be better or worse? Who knows, but I am hopeful that there is someone else out there capable of leading our city. After all, we found someone capable of leading our country?

#86 if sam adams was a moral crusader ala many republican politicians, you’re totally correct. i didn’t vote for adams to be my moral compass however. i’ll manage my own morals…adams can help manage the city.

It’s interesting to note that the legal age of consent in Washington State is 16, while here in Oregon it happens to be 18. So, if Mr. Adams and Mr. Breedlove crossed the I-5 bridge and had sex in Vancouver, everything would have been OK, legally speaking And that’s just silly.

Beau Breedlove knew exactly what he was doing and he acted as a consenting adult, even if he and Sam jumped the gun here in Oregon by a month or two.